How Does Solar Power Work?

Solar power is part of a technology that has many applications. Several of these applications include space heating and cooling, potable water, daylighting, hot water, thermal energy for cooking and also industrial purposes. Several techniques that utilize solar power include the use of photovoltaic panels, and solar thermal collectors, which convert sunlight.

The way that solar power works is like this: A large area of sunlight is focused into a small beam, using lenses or mirrors and tracking systems, and then used as a heat source for a conventional power plant. Within these systems, a working fluid is heated by the concentrated beam of sunlight, and is then utilized for power generation or energy storage.

The benefit to the consumer is applications of solar technology through architecture, urban planning, agriculture, horticulture, solar lighting, solar thermal processes, electrical generation, and alternative transportation energy sources.

The benefit of solar power to the environment can be seen in the relation between photovoltaics and growing corn for ethanol. On 1 hectacre of land, enough ethanol can be produced to drive a car 30,000 miles (48,000 kilometers) per year. On that same amount of land, 1 hectacre of photovoltaic cells can produce enough power to drive a car 2,500,000 miles (4,020,000 kilometers). One theory is that the deserts of the South Western United States could produce sufficient electricity using photovoltaic cells to fulfill the electrical needs of the entire United States, also using electrolysis to produce hydrogen from water and also powering aircraft.

With so much desert land utilized for electrical needs, and the rest of the land utilized for other purposes, the environment will increase in terms of prosperity, as solar power is diverted more efficiently towards harsh areas, such as the desert, under the ocean, or mountain tops. The fertile land will be left with its resources intact, and can be further developed beyond agriculture and irrigation. With the continuing advancement of solar power, hydro power can also be developed alongside, optimizing the capabilities of the efficiency of the utilization of electricity. Solar power is a key to advancing other forms of technology as well.

Sources:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power.